Live For Me (Blurred Lines #2)(46)
Author: Erin McCarthy

When I came back out, clean and feeling better, Lizzie was also dressed in leather leggings and an oversized sweater hanging off one shoulder. There was a knit cap on her head. She was drinking a glass of white wine. “Some dude just dropped off a jeep. He said G ordered it. Jay signed for it.”

“Oh, okay, thanks.” I was kind of glad I didn’t have to deal with the delivery man. It felt so overblown to have a jeep delivered to coastal Maine.

“Is it for you?” she asked slyly.

“Yes.”

“I knew it. But it was kind of obvious when the license plate says TIFFANY.” She gave me a grin. “I guess being a housesitter isn’t a bad gig.”

“It’s a Christmas gift,” I said. “Devin is very generous.”

“You could call it that.”

She wasn’t going to make me feel cheap about his present. I went to go look at it out the front window. There it was. A Tiffany blue jeep sitting in the driveway, looking very shiny and new. Lizzie was right. The Maine license plate stated TIFFANY on it. That was a little embarrassing. A lot embarrassing. So not me.

“It’s a sweet ride,” Lizzie said.

Damn it. Couldn’t she just leave me alone for five minutes? “It’s very nice.”

“Don’t you ever get excited about anything?” She sounded annoyed. “It’s a f**king car!”

Her annoyance annoyed me. “What am I supposed to do? A cartwheel? Devin’s not even here to see it. And that’s not my personality anyway.”

“What personality?” She stomped off in a huff.

I had no idea why anything I said or did mattered in the slightest to her, but it hurt my feelings. I had a personality. I’d just learned to rein myself in. It caused nothing but trouble to call attention to yourself in the foster system. I couldn’t wait until Lizzie left to go back to New York. I was going to welcome the quiet again after this ridiculous house party.

I texted Devin.

The jeep is beautiful. Thank you. Xoxo

As soon as the guests were gone, I was going to go out in the driveway and sit it in. Smell it’s newness. Touch the seats, the dashboard. Marvel that it was mine. But I didn’t want Lizzie rubbernecking at me while I did it.

Glad you like it. As soon as we get back from NYC we can go get your license.

Wait a minute.

Back from NYC? I thought I was staying here.

What? No, of course not. You’re going with everyone at 3. The car will take you from the airport to my apt and I’ll meet you there tomorrow.

I didn’t now whether to be terrified or excited. I was going to New York City. Just like that.

How long?

Couple days.

What the hell was I supposed to pack? Anxiety gripped me. I called Cat. She answered on the third ring.

“He is taking me to New York. I’m going to puke.”

“What? OMG. That’s amazing. I mean, unless you don’t want to go to New York.”

“I do, but I don’t know what to pack. I don’t have a city wardrobe. I have a thrift shop wardrobe.”

“Lucky for you, that’s in style now.” She added, “So… everything went okay when you got back, obviously.”

I wanted to tell her details, but I was in the front hallway by the main stairs and anyone could walk by at any given moment. I didn’t want to share any of my news where it could possibly be overheard. “Yes, it definitely did. I’ll call you tonight and tell you everything. But I just had to tell you because I’m freaking out.”

“Well, shit, have fun! Don’t freak out. Just enjoy it!”

“You’re right. Thanks.” It wasn’t a vacation since Devin was making arrangements for Cassandra and probably had work to do, but it was still exciting. I was leaving Maine. For the first time ever.

After I hung up I sent another text to Devin. It was important to remember none of this would be happening if Cassandra hadn’t overdosed. I hoped she was totally recovered.

Is Cass ok?

Yeah. She was lucky this time.

I’m glad to hear it.

Me too. I miss you.

That made my heart swell. I missed him too. A whole hell of a lot. I didn’t know how to navigate with his friends. I felt like the poor girl from the backwoods that I was.

Miss you 2. Should I send you a selfie? (

Funny. Love you, owl.

Flying was awful. It would have been scary enough with someone I was comfortable with, but being with a group of strangers who were rich and jaded, it was horrible. I felt like I couldn’t tell them I was worried, and I felt stupid every step of the way when I didn’t know or understand the process.

“What are you doing?” Lizzie snapped at me at one point when I hesitated getting on the plane.

She had run into the back of me when I stopped walking.

It was a miracle they were even letting me board the plane since all I had was my birth certificate and my high school ID card with my picture on it. But it was a private jet, so I guess the rules were different. It was so small though, I panicked when it was time to duck and go inside.

“Go ahead,” I said, stepping to the side on the steps.

“OMG.” She huffed past me, curls flouncing.

Sapphire raised her eyebrows at me. “You ever been on a plane before?”

I shook my head, swallowing hard. “But I’m fine.” It was like walking into a new foster home. I just needed to straighten my spine and do it.

So I did. But that didn’t mean I enjoyed any of the hour long flight. Takeoff was unnatural and terrifying. Looking out the window made me want to hyperventilate. Lizzie and her boyfriend, whose name I still didn’t know, bickered the whole time. Sapphire and Jay slept. I had taken my laptop and I tried to work on my story, but I was distracted by every sound and motion the plane made, sure we were going to drop out of the sky and crash into a field.

When we finally landed I relaxed my shoulders for the first time since takeoff. I stood back and watched and followed behind everyone else as we got off the plane, collected luggage and found the man with the sign that read GOLD. There were a lot of people. Possibly more people than I’d ever encountered in one place at the same time. I clutched my purse, backpack on my shoulders, and felt very small, insignificant. Lizzie had already questioned my lack of luggage, but all I had was my duffel bag and my backpack, so I had opted for the backpack as less conspicuous. Devin had said only a few days, so how much did I really need?

But between Lizzie, Sapphire, and the retrieved luggage from Cassandra’s room, there were eight enormous bags going with us. Designer. I read enough gossip blogs to recognize how expensive the luggage was.